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Topic: First Gouda (Read 2702 times)

Here is my 7g make of Gouda with Cumin seed. I used Meso 3, Calcium chloride and liquid rennet. It seemed to go well, the only thing I'm not really happy with is, usually you just toss the matted curd into the mould. I milled the curd after draining to incorporate the cumin seed, and found that the knit is not as good as it could have been. I will continue to press continue to press under30lbs for 24 hours.

That's quite the beast you've created there. I enjoy the thoroughness of your picture journals shotski. Is it really your first Gouda? If so, I do hope it turns out, that's a lot of cheese for a first time make.

The pressed wheel looks really nice though. How are you planning on aging it, and do you have any special plans for it?

I have not covered all the steps with pictures in the process but got the main steps. Yes Jim this is my first Gouda, I did a 16L Edam a couple of months ago I was very pleased with the results of that wheel and the Gouda process is very similar. I have made Stilton's with this volume.

I am a little annoyed though the pot I purchased said it was rated for 34L as you can see with this 7gallon or 26.5L I'm not getting much more in the pot.

As far as aging is concerned I really need to look into the options. I know there are many options and I am very interested in perusing them, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Gouda is one of my all time favorites , never tried one with cumin seed yet though.

The first pic shows 8 gallons of milk , did you scale down to 7 because the pot was smaller than you anticipated ?

As for aging options , I have yet to make a cheese bigger than 2 pounds (2 gallons) , so I can't say much , but I have four goudas aging right now and I am totally sold on the cream coating for them , I had a lot of mold problems with wax.

Tias coconut oil treatment may be good if you want a natural rind , I am going to try it on my next cheese.

Keep up the good work .

Cheers , Jim.

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No..........I'm not a professional CheeseMaker , but I play one on TV.

"The first pic shows 8 gallons of milk , did you scale down to 7 because the pot was smaller than you anticipated ?"

This was the first time finding out what the capacity really is for this pot. A cording to the manufactures model number it is a 34L pot. But it maxes out at 27L. After looking into it after the fact, apparently this is not uncommon for stock pots. I have no idea why that would be.

I had a 5 gallon pot that I used to make 4 gallon cheeses in. I think that if you put what it says in it, it would be over flowing. I bought two of those electric roasters that are for 18 quarts. I have put 17 quarts in each of them, buy you can't stir too fast.

The cheese looks great. I make 8 gallon batches in my two roasters but I press them into two 4 gallon batch cheeses. I think that the 4 gallon cheese is large, I can't imagine a 7 gallon one.

I love the challenge of these cheeses. I have seen others use multiple pots or roasters, I just wonder about consistency ( my issue I'm sure ). I am sure it must be achievable as many are using this process. I also wanted a multi purpose pot for making beer so I opted for the single batch pot.

Thanks Jeff, I has dried over night and is not weeping any whey today, the surface seems on the dry side of moist I think it is ready for the cream wax tonight. This is the first cheeses of this size I will be waxing.

The plan is to cream wax the Gouda tonight about 24 hours after taking it out of the brine. Then 3 weeks after hard wax. Does this sound about right for this size of cheese?

I'll let Herman guide you on waxing. I've not used cream wax myself, and it seems all my cheeses end up wet under the wax, so I'm not waiting long enough I think. I would probably give yours quite a bit more time in just the cream wax, and wouldn't go for a hard wax until 2 or 3 months. But again, Herman will have better ideas about this.

- Jeff

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The wise do not always start out on the right path, but they do know when to change course.

I'll let Herman guide you on waxing. I've not used cream wax myself, and it seems all my cheeses end up wet under the wax, so I'm not waiting long enough I think. I would probably give yours quite a bit more time in just the cream wax, and wouldn't go for a hard wax until 2 or 3 months. But again, Herman will have better ideas about this.

- Jeff

Hey Jeff

In my limited understanding The cream wax has mold inhibitor in it but still allow the transfer of moisture and that is why there is a lag time before hard waxing which seals the wheel retaining all of the moisture.

As I said this is my limited understanding so I hope Herman or someone with more experience it this area would chime in.

The wheel is now 3160g after brine and from what I have read for a cheese this size it should be cream waxed when the rind is slightly damp to the touch and then hard waxed 2.5 - 3 weeks after cream waxing. |lease correct me if I'm wrong.

Yes, I believe the cream wax will still allow it to shed excess moisture. I've not looked into it much myself since I don't have any cream wax, so go with your own impressions and understanding. One can always adjust as you go (wax on - wax off )

- Jeff

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The wise do not always start out on the right path, but they do know when to change course.